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Reading with Your Child

Read stories to your child. Read with your child. This will make your child a much better reader. Ask your family and friends to read to your child!

What books to read with your child

• Books that both of you like.
• Books with lots of pictures. This is more interesting for him.
• Waterproof books and picture books if he is very young.
• Books that are good for his age.
• Books that he reads in school.
• Books and stories about what's important to you.

When to read with your child

• Read with him every day!
• Read together at night before bedtime.
• Ask him to read instead of watching television or playing video games.
• Use closed captioning so he can read when he watches TV.

Where to read

• Read books everywhere, even in the bathroom.
• Read together with other families. Do this at the library and at school.
• Read everything! Read cereal boxes, labels, signs at the store, menus, billboards, etc.

What to do when you read

• Use your voice as you read.
• Move your whole face. Move your body.
• Your child needs to see your face and the story at the same time.
• Use your face to show the feelings of the characters in the story.
• Use toys and stuffed animals as you read. Have them act out what's happening in the story.

Be creative!

• Feel free to add to the story. Explain the story if your child asks you to.
• Talk about the story with your child as you read.
• Ask your child questions like, "What do you think will happen next? Why do you think so?"
• Connect the story to your child's life.
• Ask your child questions like, "Has this ever happened to you? Were you ever sad? When? What did you do?"

How to keep your child reading

• Ask him to turn the pages when you read.
• Talk about the story first. Then read the text.
• Run your finger under the line of text as you read together.
• Show him that you read from left to right and from the top of the page to the bottom.
• Show him that sentences are made up of words and are different sizes.
• Show him that all sentences end with punctuation.
• Practice finding little words within big words. For example, "an" and "ban" in "banana."

Label things!

• Label everything you can around your home. Your child will quickly learn what letters make up refrigerator, toilet, and bed if she sees the word every time.
• Color code letters, vowels and consonants in the story. For example, you can color all the vowel sounds yellow.

Help your child read out loud

• Clap the syllables when you say them. You can have different claps for different sounds.
• Different sounds make different vibrations. Place your child's hand on your throat. This will help him to feel the sounds as you speak.
• Different sounds make different flows of air. Put your child's hand in front of your mouth. Then, he can feel the flow of air pushing out as you speak.
• Your child should watch your lips as you make sounds and words. Practice together in front of a mirror. Look how your lips, tongue and face move as you say different syllables.
• Show your child how to say different sounds. Do this by reading and practicing with him.

Find out more about teaching your child to read

• Read what other parents have to say about reading.
• Read more tips at www.child-reading-tips.com.
• To teach your child to read in Spanish, look at ¡Colorín Colorado!.
• Read about different reading strategies for deaf children.
• Borrow free videotaped stories from the Captioned Media Program.

Next: Help in school

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